and then there was one...

Ahhhh… perspective . It is a beautiful thing. When you find it, you realize you have missed it so much. It is like that wonderful friend you have not seen in so long and when you finally see them face to face once more, you feel whole.  Last week I went to Michigan to see my family…my beautiful, hilarious, and loving family. A few months ago my parents made the trek to Michigan from Indiana for a great career change my dad was presented with the prior year. I was fortunate to have my parents, brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew under the same roof that week. The house was full…full of love and like I said…perspective. I did not realize I had lost it so long ago and then found it until I was on my way home. I was sitting at the Detroit airport, waiting for my flight back, delayed four hours and was in disbelief of what I had experienced that week. I was supposed to be studying…getting ahead on homework for the term but instead was thinking about where I have been the last few

Grief . An incredibly strong statement with so many connotations attached to such a relentless word. It weighs a lot…it can sit on you like a ton of bricks…it can carry you through your time here on earth when you do not know what else to feel…it can push you down and hold you there…it can feel as if it is grabbing your heart and ripping it right out of your chest…it can come unexpectedly and make you feel so small…it can make you feel alone even when there are so many around you who love and care for you…it can be all you think about and even worse, all you dream about…it can break you down on your better days…it is grief. The past year and a half I have been feeling these things periodically and they were pretty much a part of my week to week, not day to day so much anymore. There were a lot more good days than bad but there would randomly be a reminder of loss and that word again…grief. As I would manage this grief, I would keep myself distracted and realized I was making great pr